Did You Notice This One Inaccuracy In Red Sparrow?

Samantha SassoMar 8, 2018 6:30 PM

Watching — and enjoying — most movies these days requires a certain level of suspended disbelief. It's unlikely a human would ever have sex with a fish, or that four teenagers could realistically be transported into a board game (and then turn into Dwayne Johnson). For the sake of entertainment, our logic takes a break in the those moments. But other things — like Jennifer Lawrence's blonde bangs that reveal no evidence of brunette roots in Red Sparrow — are harder to ignore. First, we think, Wow, those highlights are impeccable. Then, the disbelief rolls in.

We (along with anyone who has ever colored their hair) know that maintaining blonde is a difficult process that can take up half the day. And that's when it's done by a trained professional. Dyeing your head an icy shade of blonde at home is a whole other ballgame — and not something we'd recommend attempting. So you can imagine how difficult it was for those with even a bit of salon knowledge to watch the scene in Red Sparrow in which Lawrence's character, Dominika Egorova, decides to box-dye her hair platinum in the bathroom sink.

Egorova, a former prima ballerina recruited by an elite Russian intelligence branch, has to go lighter in order to seduce one particular male target. But she can't do it alone, so her roommate (also a spy) offers to help by squirting a bottle of bleach directly into her hand before massaging it into Egorova's scalp. Almost instantly, Egorova is the perfect shade of icy blonde. Then, she proceeds to dive into a chlorine-filled pool.

Any professional colorist can tell you that this whole scene breaks every rule in the beauty book. First, going from brunette to blonde requires a double-process treatment to lift your darker color before actually dyeing it a lighter shade. Also, it doesn't just happen in the blink of an eye — it can take around four hours. And once you do bleach your hair, you should never, for any reason other than saving a drowning human, go swimming immediately afterwards — unless you want your hair to turn green.

Naturally, Twitter was quick to point out how inaccurate this part of the film was.

This might seem completely insignificant in the grand scheme of the film, but it's indicative of a larger issue in the industry. As TheVillage Voice puts it, "If you want women to trust that you have made an earnest effort to dissect a woman’s psyche, don’t just assume you know the details." Our solution: Hire a woman to write the screenplay, or at least consult a colorist before making the assumption that going blonde isn't as tedious as watching paint dry — because it most definitely is.